Behind Glittering Gold
by Cosette 24601
Summary: The Golden Age. The glittering beacon that Narnia would reminisce of for years. But glittering gold hides the intrigue and deceit. Susan finds herself spun inside a dangerous web. Edmund has danger shadowing his wake, ready to pounce. And safety is merely an illusion. Parts of the story take place during HHB. Sequel to The Mercenary.
1. Homecoming

**Hello, readers! This is my sequel to ****_The Mercenary _****and its companion fic ****_Eternal Blossom._**** It may be tricky to read this without first reading ****_The Mercenary _****(The other fic is mostly covered by reading ****_The Mercenary _****alone). Nonetheless, feel free to try and PM or review with questions! And as always, please review! **

**A huge shout out to ResOmnesBeneFacere. After the end of ****_The Mercenary_****, he sent me a list of every loose end he found so I could be sure to address them here. **

**Warning though, both that fic and this one have dark themes involved. **

Six armed, strong men dressed in Calormene armor against a weaponless, emaciated figure. She didn't know why they were attacking her in one of the many dark, abandoned streets on the outskirts of Tashbaan. But they had said her name. Her real name that is, Nzinga. The only people who would know that name would mean trouble. Deathly trouble. She ducked as a sword came towards her. She jumped onto the man, distracting him to the point that as he swung his sword wildly, he managed to hurt one of the other men instead. Fools. She used all her weight, what little she had left of it, to snap his neck in one swift movement, too fast for anyone else to track the motion. As his body fell, she wretched his sword away from him. Now, she had a chance of survival. She ducked and twisted through the men. Her concentration was on survival, but when she saw an opportunity, she struck without hesitation. She would have run, but they had managed to corner her. And scaling the wall would merely make her an easy target for the man with spears.

It wasn't as hard as it could have been. Despite her easy elimination of the first man, the five remaining still underestimated her. They weren't fighting nearly as hard as she imagined they could. Or if this was their best, then the Calormene army was in trouble.

Soon, only one was left. She fought with more careful precision, aiming to disarm, not kill. But soon he was defenseless and she raised his own sword to his throat and said in a low hiss, "Did _he_ send you?"

"I…I don't know what you mean," he said panicky.

"My former master. Has he tracked me down again?" she hissed, pressing the blade against his neck just deep enough for a trickle of blood to escape. She refused to return to slavery. She'd kill for her freedom, as lousy as it may be.

The man fearfully gaped for breath and said, "No! No! It wasn't him."

"Then who?" she said, gritting her teeth. She wasn't exactly surprised to know she had other enemies. All the work she had done for her master when he owned her had garnered her many dangerous enemies. Even though she had only been following his orders.

She heard footsteps behind her and whirled to see a richly dressed man approaching, with a heavy guard around him.

He slowly applauded her in a way that chilled her to the bone. "Impressive. The stories they tell of you hardly did justice to your prodigious skill."

"What do you want of me? Who are you?" she hissed. Without removing the sword from the man's throat, she aimed a stolen knife at new threat.

"You have adeptly passed my first test. Let's see if you can pass my second," he said, beckoning to her leeringly. "See if the stories of your other talents are equally warranted."

She knew instinctually what he meant. She crouched and snarled at him. She had long had enough of the touch of vile men, no matter how much they might pay for such liberties. But if he only wanted her fighting ability, that was a different story. But she hardly understood why he would test her against six men. "Not unless you tell me what goal you are aiming for."

"I seek a treasure that teases me by extending her hand before wickedly pulling it back. And you, vile as you may be, can help me get it."

"What treasure are you seeking?" she said exasperatedly.

"The barbarian queen."

* * *

Meanwhile, far to the North and deep in the forest, more intrigue of a different nature was forming.

"_Spiritus salutus. B__eati penates_," a hooded figure intoned, her breezy voice forming the ancient woodland words of magic with ease. She then threw her head back as she chanted. Her two companions watched in amazement as piles of leaves began circling in front of her.

"Adahy, the seeds," she said to the youngest companion who silently handed her the seeds which he had placed into a pouch he had made by curling his own leaves.

"Nahele! The vines," she called and the taller dryad gave her the vines he had been carrying. The vines climbed upwards, twisting its way up, making the leaves form into a screen. Soon, vague shapes could be made out in the leaves. But it wasn't clear enough for her tastes. "Give me your strength." Her companions held their hands out to her. While neither of them had magic, all dryads could give each other strength to perform magic. They rooted themselves into each other as she directed her magic to find the information she was looking for. Ever since a centauride had warned her of the dark age Narnia was doomed to, she had been trying to see the future for herself. For she must control it. She despised leaving the future to chance. She must know it; she must control it.

The youngest dryad nearly keeled over in shock as familiar figures appeared in the leaves.

"A funeral," Nahele said breathlessly. "Ana, it's your parents."

Aiyanna simply shrugged. "This scene is unimportant. _D__einde_."

The leaves reformed, and they saw the Queen Susan with a man in bed.

"By the Mane," Nahele swore. "Ana, call for the next scene. The Narnian queen would be furious should she find out we invaded her privacy this way."

"I had my suspicions…" Aiyanna said breathlessly, recognizing him. Without any prompting, the scene shifted again. The same man was alone.

"What is this? What are we seeing?" Nahele insisted as they saw the man with a sword in hand, blood dripping from its blade.

Aiyanna looked stricken as she watched the scene unfold. She turned to leave, but her friend stopped her, easily guessing her plan.

"You do not understand love," her friend cautioned. "If they already desire each other, nothing you may say will move their mind."

She shot him a sharp look, but merely said, "I feel it has one more story to tell us. _Deinde_."

The scenes was less clear this time.

"Tash," Aiyanna suddenly said.

"Since when do you use such curses?" Nahele said, rather shocked. But she ignored him, her stare never wavering from the scene before her that only she make out.

"… I cannot believe…it… I have to stop this future from happening. Your romantic notions of love are unimportant. I will find a way to stop this," she vowed. "_Fin_."

The vines collapsed, the leaves quickly falling without support and soon the forest was returned to its normal state.

The dryad lost no time in carrying out her plan, finding the two Narnian queens engaged in an argument.

Before Aiyanna interrupted them, the two of them had been arguing about a certain man who was soon to return. She listened outside, her magic allowing to hear through the solid wall. She was relieved to hear Susan being insistent that she was interested in the Calormene Prince, but Lucy seemed to think Susan's true interests lied elsewhere. Aiyanna could only hope whoever they were talking about wasn't yet the man she had seen in her visions. She turned around the corner and entered, the guards recognizing her and not bothering to stop her.

"Ana," Susan said a bit too sweetly, sensing a likely ally. "Do you think a royal should marry for love, or for political gain?"

"Gain, of course," the dryad said instantly as Susan knew she would.

"I really don't want to hear the wife of my own brother say that," Lucy grumbled, mostly annoyed that the comment would make Susan feel her reasoning for considering Rabadash's advances was validated. The fact that Aiyanna's and Peter's marriage was mainly for political reasons was not news to her. "But of course you would say that. You have no idea what love is!"

Rather than being offended, Aiyanna just shrugged her stick-like shoulders and said, "Well, I am a tree. Not exactly the most feeling and emotional of creatures. But I understand love for one's people. As does your sister. I assume we are talking about the possibility of an alliance from a marriage between you and Rabadash?"

Susan nodded, so Aiyanna continued, "I highly recommend it. If not, perhaps that Telmarine prince who keeps dropping by."

Susan wondered what made her so adamant. There was no way Aiyanna could have known about her and Darius…

"She should marry whoever she loves the most," Lucy insisted.

"And anger every other suitor interested in her hand? They will take it as an insult if she passes them over for someone of significantly lower rank. Perhaps cause for war," Aiyanna pointed out.

Susan really, really began wondering if Aiyanna knew anything. Even though she didn't know how the dryad could.

"Anyways, my magic says that a ship is just out of sight. It is likely the ship you are waiting for."

"Not a word," Susan warned Lucy as they rushed out to the docks. Aiyanna disappeared to go inform her husband.

"Mmhmm," she agreed, mainly because should Peter find out, he would ensure nothing happened between Susan and Darius. And he would have good reason to object seeing when they had first met, Darius was trying to assassinate her. Not that Peter was that much more amicable to men who had yet to threaten her life. He barely agreed to Prince Rabadash sending ambassadors to seek her hand for him. Although that might actually be what bothered Peter about it. But soon Peter would have his chance to judge the Calormen prince for himself when he came to Narnia.

"Even with all the time it took to get down here, I can just barely see a speck in the distance," Lucy commented. "Her magic's getting so good that it's almost creepy."

"Father says dryad magic confuses him," Prince Corin said as he sauntered up towards them.

"Corin! How are you?" Susan said fondly. She and Corin had grown close when she and her adopted nephew, Pheneus, had traveled to Anvard for a month to help ease them with the passing of his mother, the Archenland queen. After that month, Lune asked if Corin could stay with them until things were more settled in Archenland and Susan had reluctantly agreed. So far the prince hadn't been as much trouble as she had imagined he would. But that wasn't saying much since she had imagined quite a lot of trouble. Thank Aslan for Pheneus though. The quieter, strictly rule-following boy managed to sometimes keep Corin out of trouble. And Corin got him to loosen up more often as well. They weren't quite friends exactly. It was more than they were the only boys each other's age and had somewhat bonded over the deaths of their mothers. But much to Susan's disappointment, the two boys were just too vastly different to truly understand and become friends with one another. Pheneus right now was with his sisters, waiting impatiently at the edge of the dock for the ship to land. Darius was their uncle by blood, so they were anxious to see their only remaining blood relative return home safely.

"Very good, thank you," he said politely, before being distracted by a young griffin who had just appeared. "Kethias!" he hollered to his friend at the top of his voice.

"Well, at least half of the time he had manners," Susan said, more amused than annoyed. They had forgotten about Corin as the ship grew closer until they hear screams, screeches, and shouting.

"Corin fell in the water!" the breathless griffin finally explained breathlessly.

They ran to try to help, even though their skirts would weigh them down should they jump in. Pheneus was already running back from wherever he had managed to find rope.

But an Kethias' father who had been on the ship flew out and dove for the young prince, pulling him out easily. But Susan still went to give Corin a good scolding for his behavior. It seemed she had to scold him at least once if not several times a day, much to her annoyance.

Soon everyone began disembarking. As much as she had protested against it, Susan was eager to see Darius again… but rather terrified too. Their correspondences had been careful about not revealing anything incriminating. She knew that Darius had seen Aslan, but the letters said nothing more, not even a hint at what may have happened. Edmund had said in a letter that And while she had mentioned Prince Rabadash to her brother, she had no clue if Edmund had passed that along.

"Sisters," Edmund greeted, pulling them both into a firm hug. "You'll be pleased to hear that our relationship with Galma is stronger than it was before."

While that was in fact good news, it was not what Susan was anxious to know.

Peter greeted Edmund as Edmund gave him a much fuller report. Susan only half paid attention, knowing Edmund would repeat it all at council. She greeted everyone else as they came off the ship with her customary grace as Lucy gave everyone cheerful hugs.

Lucy actually saw him first. She elbowed Susan a bit too conspicuously and pointed him out with her eyes. Susan looked over to see Darius' nephew and nieces piling on him eagerly to greet him. She tried reading his face, but could determine nothing, especially at such a distance. Other than he seemed freer. She didn't know quite how to describe it. But it was if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. And yet, like something was eating at him.

When he eventually freed himself from the children and made his way over to them, she held her hand out for him to kiss. He took it and did so, taking the slip of paper she held in her hand which said, "I'll come calling on you late tonight. We have much to talk about." He knew enough to furtively hide the slip of paper to read later.

Lucy greeted him with a friendly hug, not caring about decorum. Susan thought quite possibly Lucy was trying to distract those who had been whispering about her connection with Darius by giving them another rumor to whisper about.

"Darius, where's your friend? Taire? That other mercenary?" Lucy inquired. Darius had asked for his old mentor and friend Taire, who had been in the Narnian dungeons for aiding in Edmund's capture, to accompany them.

"He ran off the moment we set foot in Galma. And… get this. With a _mole,_" Edmund said. Everyone but Darius stared blankly at him. "A mole? Remember, they had a _mole _inside of Cair Paravel? It wasn't code for a spy, but rather literal. Or so I believe."

"And where are they now?" Peter asked with a frown.

"Don't know. We didn't search too hard. I say we just make sure they never return to Narnia and good riddance."

Peter chuckled. "He was that obnoxious?"

"More."

"But what about him wanting revenge for Lisette's death?" Susan asked with a frown.

"Your Majesty, he probably lied. Or else, it wasn't as important as what has always been his first priority, himself," Darius said gruffly. Susan wasn't fooled. Darius' mannerisms always became tougher when he was hiding his pain. While he had no misconceptions about how obnoxious and immoral Taire was, Taire had been him mentor and one of his earliest friends when he was at some of his most vulnerable moments of his childhood. To have Taire abandon him probably hurt much more than he let on.

"Darius, how did your…quest go?" Peter inquired. "Since I assume you didn't succeed in your ill-advised attempt to kill Aslan."

"No, Sire," Darius said with a bow. "I…I rather not go into details."

Peter looked like he was about to protest, but Susan elbowed him. "How would you like it if people asked you such deeply personal questions in front of everyone?" she whispered.

"Anyways," Peter said. "Edmund, Darius, will you both be ready to restart training tomorrow for the upcoming tournament? The Calormens are being particularly insistent on only humans and what they consider 'near humans' should participate. And only males."

"And since when do we give in to Calormene demands?" Edmund protested furiously.

"Once the other countries heard Calormen was insisting on it, they backed them too. Except for Archenland which is quickly moving from Narnia's ally to its good friend," Peter said.

"I noticed," Edmund said, jerking his head towards Prince Corin. He knew the boy had been visiting, but hadn't realized the prince had quickly become a part of everyday Narnian court life.

"Corin! Please don't try to ride that horse!" Susan called as she saw the boy attempting to mount a rather spirited, wild horse with Pheneus trying to talk him out of it. One of the Talking Horses kindly went over and graciously offered for him to ride her so that the prince would be safe from his own daring idiocies.

"Boys will be boys," Edmund shrugged until he saw Susan glaring at him. "But…. It's a very bad thing for him to do. Very bad indeed," he hastily added.

"He's been driving Su crazy," Peter said, rubbing the small of his sister's back comfortingly.

"Let's go inside before Corin manages to break anything, most likely himself," Susan said exasperatedly.

"And you still want to entertain the notion of marrying this dark-faced lover of yours? You do realize that having children will be just like this," Edmund teased. Susan couldn't help laughing. Edmund was probably the only one who could find a way of criticizing her choices that made her laugh rather than get angry.

"Dark-faced lover?" Darius suddenly interjected, clearly disturbed. Susan held her breath. Evidently Edmund hadn't mentioned him to Darius. This… this could be bad.

"Prince Rabadash. He's coming in a few days, ergo the tournament including Calormens. Please tell me you can beat him. I bet he'd be so furious that a titleless person was able to beat him," Edmund said jokingly, but with a note of seriousness in it. He hadn't even been around all the Calormene ambassadors and was already annoyed by them.

"Ed, please don't _try_ to antagonize the prince," Susan protested.

"Fine, fine. Not on purpose at least," he teased, much to Susan's annoyance. She jokingly pushed him and then mussed his hair. She just couldn't be too upset with him when her little brother had finally returned after such a long trip.

"Calormens?" Darius repeated, stricken.

"No, Prince Rabadash of the Lone Islands. Of course Calormens," Edmund said sarcastically.

But Susan understood what had bothered Darius so without him saying it. "We've been keeping an extra close eye on Pheneus and the girls. There's no way any Calormen could carry through the threat to kill them for you not completing the assassination job. Besides, they've been safe at Cair Paravel so far."

"The Calormens weren't swarming inside Cair Paravel before," he muttered under his breath.

"They're my wards now," Peter reminded. "And Aiyanna's. While she is still uncomfortable with being a mother, her watching out for them means her magic could give us another advantage in protecting them."

"Yes, Sire," Darius said. He only seemed partially placated. Susan had a fairly good idea what was bothering him.

As soon as she was free that night – meaning an incredibly late hour – she made her way to Darius' room.

"My queen?" he whispered as he opened the door. As soon as she was inside, he almost slammed the door and turned to her. "Prince _Rabadash?_ Are you crazy?"

"No," she said crossly, perturbed that he choose to greet her with such an insult. She supposed she might get this out of the way though. Although she was anxious to find out what had happened with Darius and Aslan. "You knew this could happened."

"I figured it would happen with a half-way decent man," he growled.

"I have yet to meet him," she said coldly. "I'll judge him then. But so far, what I have figured out from his ambassadors is that he is interested in Narnia, wishes me to be his queen, and believes himself to love me. And before you say it, he already knows that marrying me would come with the condition that he forsakes having a concubine or harem. I've also mentioned that I am interested in helping the Calormene poor should I live there. While the ambassadors didn't seem ecstatic about that, he continued sending them, so I consider that a positive response."

Darius looked at her incredulously. "You've seriously thought this all out."

"Can't you see? This is my chance. To finally do something good," she said, her face shining bright.

"Finally? You do good all the time! All you do is help others! No matter the cost to you," he said, stricken.

"Narnia will still have three rulers and be just as strong. Here's my chance to help the people of another country who need my help more than Narnia does," she said.

"Not if you _die_ from taking such a foolish risk," he shot back. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't be such a pessimist."

"Then don't be such an idealist."

"Don't you think that all my siblings save Edmund have already given me this talk? He'll most likely do so the moment he finds an opportunity. And most of my advisors have too," she said angrily.

"Then maybe you should listen to them," he retorted. She must have looked more upset then she thought she did, because he suddenly softened and gingerly pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, your Majesty. I…I didn't mean this to be how we greet each other after six months."

"Then how did you mean to greet me?" she asked flirtatiously. She wasn't exactly sure where the two of them were. Especially now that he knew about Rabadash. But a girl could hope…

"I… I often dreamed about holding you in my arms like this, my queen," he said slowly, pulling her in slightly more. He had dreamt about her? She caught his eye and could see he was wondering about their relationship as she did. She quickly decided that finding out what happened between him and Aslan could wait.

"And then what happened in those dreams?" she said quietly, giving him a not-so-subtle hint to continue. She knew him well enough to realize he was unlikely to initiate anything unless she made it obvious he should.

"I…I might cup your face in my hands like this," he said, putting his hands under her chin and rubbing it softly with his thumbs.

"And would I tilt my head back like this?" she said, a smile playing on her lips.

"Mhmm, and I would kiss you next," he said uncertainly.

"You're not going to give a demonstration of the kiss?" she teased, somewhat disappointed, although she found it unlikely he would pass up such an invitation.

"Just making sure that such a demonstration wouldn't get me punched," he smirked before kissed her. She felt a sudden rush of heat throughout her body. This. This is what she needed. It was more freeing than even archery was for her. For as long as this kiss might last, all the struggles and pressures of being a queen disappeared, and she could just be herself, act how she wanted to do rather than how she was supposed to. Soon the kiss escalated. Susan wasn't sure how far this might go, a thought which both frightened and invigorated her. Everything was in that kiss. All her frustration about everyone trying to tell her how to live her life. How much she had missed everyone who had been on the ship to Galma. Her loneliness from no one save Darius understanding how she was still a woman with desires no matter how virtuous she might be. All her fears about Calormen.

He responded in kind, making her adrenaline rush so fast that she felt she might pass out.

"My queen," he murmured, which took her out of the moment for a bit, making her guiltily remember decorum and remember what an incredible breach of this it was. Rather than pull away, she decided to go farther so she could completely forget. Her fingers expertly ran up and down his strong chest. Sometime felt a little strange, but she ignored it as she was distracted by the pleasant feeling of his lips moving down her neck, making her gasp in delight. She eventually led his face back to hers to kiss him again. She could feel her head spinning as her fingers fumbled at the ties in front of his shirt as she continued to exchange hot kisses. She could feel him attempting to undo the strings at the back of her dress. She managed to succeed first and pulled his shirt off.

She took a step back, horrified as she stared at his chest. "Wha- who-what…" she stammered, unable to express herself in words. She finally took a steadying breath and asked, "Did… it wasn't.. it couldn't have been… did _Aslan_ do that?"


	2. Love

**A million thank-yous to ResOmnesBeneFacere! He did a lot of work on perfecting the Darius/Aslan scene which was really hard to get right. And the idea of the gashes being used as a stigmata was his idea. And thank you PopRockShawty for reviewing the scene at the end (which is based on AlanaFaith2's request!).**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed & followed! Sorry (not!) for leaving you on such a cliffhanger.**

Susan stared at horror at the gashes on Darius' chest. They didn't look like lion claws, but who else could have attacked him? Even if Darius wasn't an expert fighter, he was with the Narnians the entire time. Unless… it was a Narnian. No. She didn't even want to think it. But she had seen wounds before and found it very likely these were caused by a knife.

"Answer me!" she commanded. "Who did this?"

She slowly ran her finger down his chest, next to the gashes but carefully avoiding them to not cause him more pain. She couldn't tell if they had been treated or not. There was something strange about them… She pulled her hand back when he flinched.

"Please… please don't get angry," he said quietly, looking terrified. But of what? Of _her_?

"Someone hurt you! Of course I'm going to be upset," she protested. "Unless… was it Aslan?"

He shook his head, and she was relieved. But then it quickly turned back to anger. "Then who?"

"You… you're going to be furious when you find out," he said, seeming almost scared.

"Darius, I know there's nothing you would have done to deserve this. So tell me, who hurt you?" she said. "Do you not trust me?"

He bowed his head and said cautiously, "It was me."

"Wh-what?!"

"I did it," he said simply. He then began shaking and kept repeating. "I did it. I… I cut myself. I… if he hadn't stopped me…I would have…" She gently took him by the hand and had him sit down on his bed, sitting next to him. He seemed to be on the verge of crying. She stroked his hair comfortingly as he rested his head on her shoulder. She caressed his hair fondly, trying to sooth him as best as she could without knowing what was going on.

"Are you ready to talk now?" she finally asked. "What… what happened?"

"I..I saw Aslan and of course… you were right. I couldn't do it. He… I can't explain it."

"I understand," Susan said softly. After all, it was what they had been counting on.

"Is it weird to say I recognized him?" he asked quietly. "I mean… I've never seen him before."

"Nay. For as they say, to love another person is to see the face of Aslan," she said sincerely. "And I know how much you love your family."

He rested his head on her shoulder, squeezing his eyes close. When he had composed himself once again, he tried to continue. "I hated myself so much for even considering it. Because once I saw him, I knew all that you've been trying to tell me all along. About how all I had was turn to him to be redeemed. And I couldn't see any way that he could _not_ despise me. All my despair came pouring back. Every crime I committed in my work, all blood shed, and you…"

"Me?"

"What… what we did… that night… when we slept together," he choked out. "I shouldn't have ever even had such wicked thoughts. Granted, without getting drunk I would have never done that, but still… I could see Aslan knew of that and… everything. He didn't seemed condemning, but I was. I hated myself. So damn much. I felt so unworthy to be in his presence. Who was I but a common criminal? Not even that… I had done so many unforgivable things… I had to get away from him, but knew running was useless."

"So… you…" she said, unable to finish her sentence. She knew how prone Darius was to putting himself down, but this was so much worse.

"I tried to. He… he told me it wasn't time yet for me to travel to his country," he said.

Susan let out a sigh of relief. "And?"

"I… I couldn't understand why there was even a chance of me going to his country. I'm … I'm not Narnian… I tried to kill you and Peter… and vowed to kill Aslan, who I had never even believed in the existence of before. I… I didn't remember saying anything. But… somehow… he still responded. He said, 'Beloved, my country is for all who seek it.' "

"And you have every chance of eventually going there. You've more than redeemed yourself," Susan whispered, rubbing his shoulders gently.

"He… I … again, I don't remember saying it for sure, but images of the fires of Tash the preachers in Archenland had warned me about so often as a child came to my mind. With myself in the fires. Where I thought I deserved to be."

Unwillingly, the same image crept into Susan's mind, scaring her. She pulled Darius in more tightly.

"He reminded me again that his country is always open for those who ask for forgiveness. Even if it be at the last moment," he said. "And not just for Narnians, but for all."

"Aslan loves everyone," Susan said. "I hope you know that now."

Darius was quiet, but then said, "Yes… I understand that now. I… I wish I had known that before and was able to turn to him. There… there were so many times. When my parents died… everything that happened in the orphanage… all the times I turned to mercenary work… When the Calormens came asking me to assassinate you –"

"Shhh," Susan finally cut him off. "What's done is done."

The corner of Darius' mouth twitched. "That's what Aslan said."

"I know. He said the same about Edmund after he returned from the clutches of the White Witch," she explained. "So… he stopped your suicide attempt, then what?"

"He healed me. At least enough that it stopped bleeding. But he left the five scars," Darius said.

"But why?"

"He said they will remind me to act as one of his children, to act as my sister taught me," he said.

"You don't need scars to remind you," Susan protested.

Darius shook his head and said, "I'm glad he gave them to me. I… I need them."

Susan didn't understand why he felt he needed them. She believed him strong enough to live his life right without any reminders. But Darius had always been so hard on himself. She shook her head and asked, "What happened next?"

"I… I asked him about Lisette. And my parents," he said, biting his lip so hard blood ran. She pulled him in her arms as he began convulsing.

"And?"

"He told me they're there. In his country. I…I'm so sorry, Susan. I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" she asked, clutching at him and frightened.

"I… I asked him to let me join them. I… I needed to see them. I didn't want to leave you, but I need them. I'm so sorry."

"Shh, Darius. Shhh," she comforted. "I understand. I completely understand."

It took awhile before Darius calmed down and stopped trying to apologize to her.

"He… he said no, right?"

"He reminded me about my nieces and nephew. I pointed out that since the High King and Queen Aiyanna adopted them, I wasn't needed in their life," he said, gazing off in the distance.

"And?" Susan asked quickly, worried about what might have happened.

"He asked me to search my heart and see if I really believed that to be true."

"Do you?"

"No…they… so soon after losing their mother. And little Helena doesn't even seem to fully understand death yet. She… she asked me why her mother didn't come home with me," he said, choking up.

Susan tried comforting him again. She had noticed that too. Helena was prone to searching for her mother and asking unanswerable questions. No one had the heart to tell her that her mother would never return. Her brother and older sister had tried telling her gently, but the permanence of it hadn't gotten through to her.

"I asked him why… why she had to die. He… he told me no one knows any story but their own," he said. "I was angry at first, but… I think I understand why he said that. My sister… it was her choice. No one else's. And now she's safe with Aslan. I… I told Aslan if he ever needed another person to sacrifice themselves, to chose me."

Susan shivered. "Please…"

"I'm so sorry, Susan. I… I… I didn't want to have to tell you about that part. He reminded me about all I have to live for. He told me… He told me it was no chance that I was the one the Calormens found and hired. He… he chose me…"

Susan pulled away and stared at his face, amazed. "He did?"

"Apparently. I … I had no clue. But… he says he did. Somehow or another. And he was the one who woke you and made sure no one else woke that night. He… he knew I could never kill you," he said, resting his forehead against hers and cradling her head in his hands delicately.

Susan felt like crying at those words. She kissed Darius' lips softly. "Of course you couldn't."

"I...I asked him about… everything else I guess. If he meant me to stay here."

"And?" Susan said, suddenly worried. Without meaning to, she began clutching at him more fiercely.

"He says I'm needed here," Darius said, although he didn't quite meet her eye when saying so. "That my place is here as your guard. All four of you. Which I plan to do. I…I'd do anything for you, my queen."

He took her hand and kissed it to seal his pledge. Susan's heart started pounding, but she didn't let it distract her from what she had noticed.

"Is that all he said?" she pressed, forcing him to look her in the eye. It wasn't though she thought he lied… but he acted as though he had more he wanted to say but couldn't. Or wouldn't.

"Yes. You should probably return before anyone finds you here," he said hastily. She frowned.

"Why are you keeping something from me?" she insisted.

"I… I'm not," he said. It might have fooled someone who didn't know him well, but she knew better. "I…I also just want to get some sleep. It's been a tiring trip, and Peridan's already asked me to practice with him for the tournament early tomorrow morning."

"Fine," Susan said crossly. It was clear he was not going to tell her anything.

After Susan left, Darius threw his knife across the room in frustration. Why did she have to be so damn perceptive? Or was it just that she was perceptive around him. But after their fight earlier, he didn't want to tell her about Aslan's warning. Aslan knew about them. He didn't say it in so many words, but Darius just knew that Aslan could see every sin he had ever committed. But he hadn't condemned it. His only rebuke was to warn Darius that in seeking happiness, he would find much misery. After finding out about Prince Rabadash, Darius could very easily guess at what Aslan was warning him about. He couldn't help imagining all the ways he could kill off the Calormene prince. But the scars on his chest began prickling.

He sighed. Living a moral life was already harder than he imagined.

The next morning, Darius saw Susan sneak into the tent where he and Peridan were sparring. He suddenly felt the need to show off in front of her. He put all his effort into the match, rather than saving some of his strength for later matches that day.

Peridan noticed his sudden increased effort and took a moment to look over his shoulder, wondering what Darius kept glancing towards. Darius took advantage of it and made Peridan's sword fly out of his hand and land just a few feet in front of Susan.

He then sauntered over and lifted the sword, offering it to her with a gallant bow, saying, "For my queen."

Susan laughed and grabbed the sword. "Now you must face me," she teased, raising the sword. Peridan quickly backed to the edge of the tent, intrigued by what was going on in front of him. He kept smirking as though he guessed something more than a swordfight may be going on.

Darius could see that Susan wasn't giving her best effort, but no one other than himself and Lucy knew that he had been giving secret lessons to the two queens. Presumably, Susan didn't want to let anyone else know that she was capable of fighting more than basic defense skills with a sword.

"Aren't you busy?" Darius asked.

"I need something to unwind," she said. She lowered her voice so that Peridan couldn't hear and teased, "Although you know another way to get me to unwind."

That statement startled and distracted Darius. Susan managed to take advantage of his distraction and disarm him using one of his own tricks. She smirked and picked up his sword, mocking, "For my fool."

"Hey!" he protested. Peridan was laughing his head off, even without hearing the innuendo. Just imagine how amused he'd be if he knew all that was going on.

"Can't even hold onto your own sword against a _girl,_" she teased.

"I know better than to underestimate a girl with a sword. Haven't… haven't you seen my sister fight?" he said, his voice faltering a bit. But he managed to stay lighthearted about it, something he wouldn't have been able to do before. Susan smiled and patted his arm supportively.

She turned to Peridan. "By the way, Prince Corin, Bria, and Pheneus were looking for you earlier. I think Corin wishes to box you or something along those lines because Phen looked anxious."

"Thank you for telling me, your Majesty. I… suppose I should go see what his Highness wants before he finds more dangerous amusement."

Susan laughed. "Please," she said, waving her hand in dismissal.

As soon as he was gone, she asked, "Do you think he suspects anything?"

"He wouldn't say anything if he did. At least not while sober," Darius said.

"That's less than reassuringly."

"Sorry."

"Eh, Peter and Edmund would never credit anything overheard at a tavern or such anyways," she said. "Now come on. Let's really fight."

After a good round of fighting, Darius said, "You seem to have been practicing, your Majesty."

"Lu and I," she said between gasps for breath. "Just going through moves you taught us. Ready for learning some new ones."

Darius saw an easy opening she had accidently left and went for it. "Like this one?"

It didn't take long for him to entrap her. Soon, Susan was pulled against his chest, his sword held loosely across her neck.

"I know how to get out of this one," she said a bit too sweetly.

"You do?" he asked, confused.

"Mhmm," she said, suddenly twisting and standing on her toes to kiss him. He absently dropped his sword as her fingers caressed his face. Thank Aslan Peridan was gone.

A moment too late, he realized only one of her hands was on his face. She had grabbed his fallen sword with the other and was holding it to the back of his neck.

He chuckled admiringly. He teased, "What's that move called?"

"I haven't decided yet. It's my specialty. And there's only one man I'm using it on," she teased.

"Minx," he taunted.

"And proud of it," she said sarcastically.

"Any chance you're going to let me go?"

"Never," she teased.

"You already have," he said sourly, despite himself.

"Excuse me?" she said coldly, her joking manner disappearing quickly. She sighed deeply and said, "This is about Prince Rabadash again, isn't it?"

"Um… yes, your Majesty," he said reluctantly. He knew he was a fool for bringing up that subject. But it had been eating at him all night. The idea of Susan in another man's arms, especially one who would never treasure her as she deserved.

"Why can't you just drop the issue? Let us enjoy the time we have left?" she said bitterly.

"It's … you deserve so much better than him. I… I know I can never be with you. But there must be so many other princes who might have a shot at being even close," he pleaded. "Marrying Rabadash… even if it's for the good of Narnia… it's too risky."

"Just leave it alone! I'm so damn tired of everyone trying to tell me how to live my life! Telling me what I deserve. Telling me what risks I can take!" she vented, her already worn thin patience on the subject breaking.

"Maybe you should listen to them!" he shot back.

"It's _my_ life not theirs, not yours. The only one who should be worried about my own happiness is me. Why the Tash do you care so damned much?" she yelled, her voice recklessly loud.

"Because I love you!" he shouted angrily before realizing what he had said. A silence so thick one could slice it through with a knife fell upon them both.

After a long pause, Susan backed away from him, her eyes flickering from side to side. "Wh-What?"

"I…. think I said… I love you," he said slowly, hardly believing he had dared to say it. Where had that even come from? But… he wasn't going to take it back. It was true. He had always loved her, but had dismissed it as the love of a loyal subject to a queen. But it was increasingly more difficult to deny that there was so much more in it. And by the Mane, if admitting it might get her to not throw her life away, he would say it.

"I… I…" she stuttered, staring into his eyes. He hoped this might be enough to convince her. He willed himself to show all his love for her in his eyes. She couldn't go to Calormen. It might kill him, but he could give her up for her own good and the good of Narnia. But not to a prince that he was sure would only cause her misery. She had to see he only wanted what was best for her.

"You… do? You love me?" she said quietly, still seeming shocked.

"I… I do…Which is … it's why I _can't_ let you go on hurting yourself. I can't let you put yourself in danger…I… I love you," he said, scared by his own audacity. He wished he had even a sliver of the skill with words that the many men seeking Susan's hand did. But perhaps his blunt words would get through to her. She had to remain safe at any cost.

As Susan remained silent, he became constantly more terrified. He had to know her mind. "Your Majesty? Please… say something. Anything."

Susan licked her lips nervously. "Um… Thank you."

"_Thank you_? That's all you have to say?" he said incredulously, feeling hurt. He… he had just practically poured his soul out to her, and all she said was "thank you"?

"I… I have a lot of stuff I need to get to. I… I'll see you around," she said hastily, practically running out of the tent, stealing glances back at him that he could not interpret.

"Susan! Your Majesty!" he called after her.

She lingered a moment at the tent's flap, but then said, "I really must be going. I've been dealing all day with Narnians upset that they will not be participating in the tournament, and… and I simply must get back to doing so."

"Oh… is… is that all?" he asked, reaching to touch her face. "It… it has nothing to do with… what I said?"

He sounded hopeful, but at the same time, it couldn't be coincidental that she left just as he was saying that.

"No, of course not," she said, her voice squeaking a bit, making her lie obvious. She took a breath, and her voice hardened. "I just … just happened to remember right then. Good_bye_, Darius."

Her harsh tone was like a slap to his face. She yanked his hand away from her head callously and spun around to leave.

"Susan," he whispered after her, scared that he had said too much too fast.

**So the request was for Darius to realize he loves Susan… she didn't say anything about Susan reciprocating. So of course I had to twist it & make it hard for them. **


	3. Gifts

**So many of you were yelling at me last chapter! Either you're all really upset over Susan not saying it back or all got stuck on caps lock :P But hey, if you're mad, then you must care about the characters. **

**For those of you who have been complaining for quite awhile about the lack of Lucy scenes… **

Lucy was relieved when Susan happened to pass by. "Su! Over here!"

Susan looked distracted, but immediately came over. "What's wrong?" she said, crouching down by Prince Corin who Lucy was trying to tend to. To Lucy's annoyance though, the young prince wouldn't sit still long enough for her to help, and Peridan hadn't been helping by standing to the side and trying hard to keep from sniggering. Susan said exasperatedly, "Corin, what have you done now?"

"I didn't do it!" he protested.

"I challenged him to a match after he beat Phen," Bria said in an almost bored voice.

"And?"

"Well, he said no, but then agreed when I called him a coward. And I knocked him down in one kick," she said in the same monotone voice.

"Corin wasn't blocking," Pheneus added.

"I didn't think a _girl_ could kick like that!" Corin protested. Lucy couldn't help but giggle a little at Corin's indignant tone, but was surprised to see Susan didn't.

"Ugh, boys are _so _stupid," Bria said, rolling her eyes. At this point, both Lucy and Peridan lost it and laughed loudly. Susan however seemed too distracted by other thoughts on her mind to see the humor in it.

"Susan, are you alright?" Lucy asked.

"I'm fine," she snapped. Lucy wasn't convinced one bit.

Nor was she any more convinced when Susan seemed to be in the same strange mood a few days later, the morning that the Calormens were set to arrive. She finally caught a moment alone with her sister to confront her about it.

"So what's the problem you needed to see me about?" Susan asked, referring to the excuse Lucy had used to get a moment alone with her.

"That can wait. First, what happened? You've not been yourself. Since the day after Ed returned," Lucy said.

"I have no clue what you are talking about," Susan said.

"Hmm… should I go with the snappiness, the distraction, the lack of smiles and laughter, and the forlorn sighs?" she said.

"Forlorn sighs?" Susan questioned.

Lucy sighed dramatically.

"I do not sigh like that!" she protested.

"Ah! So you do admit to the other stuff! And admit that you have been sighing, just not quite as crazy as that," Lucy said smugly.

Susan glared at her.

"C'mon sis. No secrets between sister!" Lucy said emphatically.

"It's Darius," Susan finally confided.

Lucy bit her lip nervously. "Did something happen? Or is this about Rabadash?"

"It's not… well, I suppose it does have to do with Rabadash as well," Susan said nervously.

"Then… what?"

"He… Darius, I mean. He… he said something to me," she said slowly.

Lucy jumped out of her seat. "He better not have said anything bad about you or said anything rude to you! But, Darius? Really? He doesn't seem the type. Even if he wasn't crazy for you."

"No!" Susan shouted. She then calmed and said, "No, nothing like that."

"Then what _was_ it like?" Lucy asked impatiently, tired of her sister's attempts to evade the point.

"He said.. he… Ughhh!" Susan said.

"Spit it out," Lucy encouraged.

"Urgh… he … said.. it… You know? Urgh," Susan said frustrated.

"It?"

"He said he loves me! Alright?" Susan said, pounding a fist into the wall.

"W-what?"

"You heard me the first time."

"I did. But, I don't understand. Why is that a bad thing?"

"I ran out after he said it."

"Wait, what?"

"I ran out! I couldn't take it! I… he meant it. I know he did. There was no way he could have faked that much sincerity."

"Alright…" Lucy said slowly, not really understanding her sister. "And?"

"I… _Nothing_ can ever happen between Darius and I. Not like that!" she said, her voice rising in a panic as she began pacing about. "I… I didn't mean for it to get this far. It was… just meant to be fun! I thought we were both just fooling around, nothing serious! For me, this was a way to relieve stress! To forget about being a queen and all the pressure of that!"

Lucy took advantage of Susan needed to come up for air to interrupt her rant. "So, you were just using him?" she asked quietly. She didn't want to judge her sister, but it seemed like that was what was going on.

Susan gaped wordlessly at her for a minute, unsure what to say. She finally settled for, "I… I hadn't thought of it like that."

Lucy frowned. "I was hoping you were going to disagree with me. Say that you actually care about him."

"I do care about him! By the Mane, I've been trying to help him from the moment he entered our lives," Susan protested.

"Then tell him you care! Maybe you aren't ready to say the l-word yet, but at least tell him that much!" Lucy exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. Now that she remembered all the times Susan had protected, supported, and cared for Darius, she knew there was something more than just fun fooling about going on. There had to be. While it wasn't exactly uncommon for her sister's gentle heart to want to care for others, Susan generally didn't give that much personal attention.

"And what would that accomplish? Prince Rabadash arrives today," Susan said. Lucy had to strain to hear it, but she could tell from Susan's voice that she was less than happy about that.

"You don't own Prince Rabadash anything yet other than to accept him graciously, and then you can send him on his merry way!" she pointed out. Even though they had spent quite some time prepping for the Calormens' arrival, she'd gladly throw away all that work. Even if Rabadash turned out to not be all that bad, she knew Susan would never be happy marrying a man she had just met and leaving Narnia.

"You don't understand. Even if it doesn't work out with Rabadash, Darius and I will keep having this argument about the next suitor and the next. We can't keep doing this! I … I'd rather break it off now than keep doing this to him…Now that I know that he… that…" Susan said, struggling to actually say it, as though saying it out loud would make it truer. She finally settled for, "Now that I know he sees this as more than simply a passing fancy. A series of romantic trysts."

"Susan," Lucy said, her voice as stern as she could possibly make it – which wasn't all that stern come quite honestly.

"You said you were having problems trying to settle a dispute. Let's work on that," Susan interrupted, changing the subject purposefully.

"That dam problem can wait," Lucy said dismissively.

Susan raised an eyebrow. "That _damn_ problem? It sounds pretty bad if you're calling it that."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, genuinely confused. "That's what it is."

"Wow," Susan said skeptically. "I never thought you'd call something a damn problem."

Lucy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What else would I call it when a pair of Beavers and Naiads are having problems deciding where the Beavers' dam can be?"

Suddenly, Susan actually burst out laughing. Lucy soon joined her, happy to see her sister almost back to normal again. She decided if Susan was laughing, then progress must have been made, and she could drop the issue for the time being. The issue of Darius that is, not this dam problem.

But just in case, Lucy was going to work the problem from the other end, especially since now she knew what had caused the rift between her sister and Darius.

She found him on patrol in the gardens with a jaguar. "Hey, Darius! I saw something strange over there. Can you come with me to check it out just in case?" she said cheerfully as she grabbed his arm and maneuvered him away, refusing him the chance to decline.

"Your Majesty?" he asked reluctantly once they were out of earshot, realizing it was unlikely that she would just happen to chose to talk with him in private.

"So… have you seen much of my sister lately?" she asked far too innocently.

"She told you," he stated flatly.

"She said you had a fight over Rabadash, and that you said that you loved her," Lucy admitted. "Surprisingly though, it took her until today to tell me about it. It must really be eating at her."

Darius had said nothing, but the branch he had happened to be grabbing suddenly snapped.

"Darius," Lucy reprimanded, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I suppose you're here to tell me to stay away from her, your Majesty," Darius guessed bitterly.

"Don't jump to conclusions," Lucy cautioned. "More the opposite, really."

"I… she doesn't want me around," Darius said.

"She thinks it's better for _you_," Lucy said. "And trust me, I can tell she's not doing it because she wants you away. I can tell it's killing her."

After several moments of silence, Darius asked, "Really? She… thinks she's pushing me away for my own good?"

"I can honestly say I've never seen any man affect her as much as you do. And… the only one who might have a good chance at convincing her to refuse Rabadash's advances," Lucy pestered. "The two of us, Ed and I, have been trying to convince her to say no. With you as well – "

"And the High King?" Darius interrupted anxiously.

Lucy shrugged. "He's not happy about it. But… he's hesitant to say anything. I think his wife is factoring into that. I'm not sure what he would say if Ana wasn't so vocal about being in support of the match. And… I guess it really is a good match politically. But I can't let my sister do that to herself!"

Darius angrily kicked a pebble. "But what do you think I can do anyways? If blurting out… stuff… to her didn't convince her, nothing will."

"So what? Are you just going to give up on her?" Lucy countered.

"Never," he vowed quietly.

"Good!" Lucy said excitedly. "Anyone can see the two of you are meant to be together!"

Darius raised a skeptical eyebrow at that.

"Hey! I'm not the only one who's noticed!" Lucy protested. "Which… ah… is kinda a problem actually. Several rumors have been going around."

Darius actually paled at that. "Really?"

"Don't worry! In fact, I can help with that! And…there's actually something you can help me with too," she said, adding a smile in the end in hopes that he might actually help her.

"I don't like the look of that smile…"

"What? Why?"

"No offense, your Majesty… but…you and your sister both get that same look when you're trying to get me to do something that the High King wouldn't want, like swordfighting lessons," he said with a frown.

"I would be offended, but you're actually really close to it with that guess…" Lucy said slowly.

* * *

As Susan's maids artistically arranged her hair, she knew she should feel fluttery, excited. That's how the girls in stories always feel when meeting their prince for the first time, right? But she felt like she was about to walk to her own death.

"You look stunning, your Majesty," a hen clucked after fussing over her a bit more. As Susan turned to look over herself in the mirror, she had to agree. And yet she wanted to rip it all off and be just an ordinary woman.

The Calormens assembled in the Throne Room where she and her siblings sat in their respective thrones. Aiyanna had conveniently excused herself, not wanting to create a potentially awkward situation. Susan's eyes swept through the crowd, trying to seek out the Prince Rabadash. It wasn't hard. There was one Calormen more richly dressed with a more snobbish air about him. And the others all clearly deferred to him, quite possibly out of fear. She suddenly felt much more nervous and queasy. It was so different from Narnia. The four of them commanded respect, but did not demand it. Their subjects respected them because of the love they had for the four of them, not from fear of retribution.

"We warmly welcome your Highness and all your companions with open arms to our humble castle," Peter said, doing an excellent job of pretending not to despise the prince.

"It pleases me to at last have the good fortune to see the famed Narnia for myself, but the beauty of Narnia seems to dim in the light that is the beautiful Queen Susan," he said.

Susan bit her lip. She hated insincere compliments. He might even mean it, but he only said it because he was seeking her hand. Genuine compliments weren't given for a purpose. Like when Darius…

The thought of him made her feel guilty. She glanced to where she'd imagined he be if he was there and was surprised to actually see him there. In guard uniform though, a sword on his left and the unique knife Edmund had given to him as a gift on his right. He must have been assigned to be there. She couldn't imagine that he'd actually want to be there. But what was he going to say? "Oh, I don't want to be there because I'm in an illicit affair with the queen?"

His face was remarkably impassive as he watched the proceedings. But so much so that she knew it was a mask. She almost wanted to say something to him, but what could she say? It wasn't like she could honestly claim that she might reject Rabadash's suit when she knew full well she was likely to accept it.

"Your kind words…. Overwhelm me. I hope you find Narnia to your satisfaction, your Highness," she said lamely, returning to the scene in front of her. But it seemed to sufficiently please the prince.

"I brought gifts for all of your Majesties in a sign of our most gracious goodwill. It is my highest hope that your Majesties who are the epitome of graciousness and magnanimity will forget what is in the past."

_You mean like threatening to kill Darius' family if he didn't assassinate us?_ Susan thought sourly. Not that there was necessarily proof pointing to Rabadash.

"We humbly bring gifts to lay at your feet, though the splendor of these gifts pales in comparison to the illustrious Queen Susan," he said. As slaves and servants paraded out jewels expensive enough to easily keep a small country afloat for years, Susan's practical mind was already wondering how many of them she could resell to get more meaningful, practical treasures for Narnia.

"For the queen whose beauty inspires the bards a thousand times over, the necklace that was said to have been worn by the illustrious goddess Zardeenah, Lady of the Night and of Maidens," he said, lifting it dramatically so it would catch the light peering in to the windows.

Susan was stunned. He was practically claiming her as one of them, better even. Worthy of wearing the necklace of a goddess – not that she worshiped Calormene goddesses. But still…

She rose from her throne to accept the gift personally, rather than having it placed to the side where a pile was already accumulating. She could feel his warm breath as he delicately placed the necklace on her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Darius very pointedly averting his eyes from the scene before him. She felt guilty, but what else was she to do? It wasn't everyday she was elevated to the level of a foreign goddess.

Rabadash had honored her first since she was the one he was pursing. But as High King, Peter was of course next. Apparently Rabadash had thought as a man Peter would be interested in books that Susan would not as a woman. Susan bit her tongue to keep from making a remark about it. She peeked at the titles and realized she would have to find some time to borrow them. They looked like she might be able to glean some useful information about Calormen from them.

Next, Lucy was regaled with a portrait the Calormens had painted of her. While it was quite beautiful, all her sister's youthful joy and happiness was gone. Instead, she looked stern and unforgiving, a look that seemed absolutely absurd on her. And then came jewels and such that Susan knew would simply be wasted. She already planned to take them and resell or find others who would actually enjoy them.

Edmund was last. Rather than any chests or such, a few slaves covered something with long, decorative curtains.

"We bring one of the most beautiful jewels of Tashbaan for your delight and pleasure," Rabadash announced to Edmund. Suddenly, the slaves dropped the curtains, revealing a slavegirl decorated in gems set in golden jewelry and silky materials. Her stomach and most of her legs were bared and covered in decorations tattooed onto her skil. Susan gripped the edges of her throne hard. This had been one aspect of Calormen culture she had been worried about, and here it was staring her in the face.

"Her name is Natara. We hope you will enjoy her," Rabadash said.

To Susan's dismay, Edmund almost looked interested. But then she caught his eye, and he was fully embarrassed and looked ashamed at himself for showing any interest at all.

The Calormens took the slavegirl and disposed of her with the other gifts as though she was nothing more valuable than anything else.

Susan bit her lip. They couldn't simply refuse a "gift". It was impolite, even if the gift was a person. But they didn't support slavery either, not one bit. Susan came to the same conclusion that she thought her siblings were likely to have. Edmund would simply have to go along with it until the Calormens were gone and then free her. To refuse her before then would be quite near an act of war.

Susan then dismissed all thought of the girl. At least until she caught sight of Darius' face. He seemed completely incapable of removing his eyes from the girl. Susan tried her best to hide her scowl. Even Darius? His eyes didn't even follow her like that! What was it about this slave girl that interested even him?

* * *

Nzinga faced the young king who – much to her amusement – seemed nervous to be speaking with her.

"So, umm, we don't actually have slaves in Narnia," he said slowly, a blush appearing on his cheeks. "So… as soon as he's gone, you'll be free. And you don't have to stay here."

She brushed that aside and quickly closed the gap between them to place her hands on his chest, saying, "I only know life as a slave, oh my – "

"No, no," he said hastily. "None of those Calormen titles."

"Then Narnian titles of Sire, your Majesty, my king, and such?" she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. She really couldn't care less.

"You are familiar with Narnian titles?"

"My mother grew up in the Lone Islands," she said dismissively before really turning on the charm. "But I only know life as a slave. Please. I wouldn't know what to do with myself otherwise. I only know the life of doing this."

She caressed his chest seductively, amused by his reaction. But she could tell he was interested as much as he tried not to be.

"I – I'll be back. Go… explore the castle and enjoy yourself," he said. She watched him as he left. The plan of seducing the king to influence him seemed unlikely to happen quickly. But there was something more important to do before working on that.

She found Darius and stalked him until she could find a second alone. When he stepped into his room, she quickly snuck in and shut the door behind her.

"I know you recognize me," she said, her eyes narrowing. All sweetness in her voice had been replaced by a growl.

He blinked and said, "You decided to come _here_ of all places? Are you crazy? Who's your target, anyways?"

She pushed him so his back was against the wall and raised a knife against his throat threateningly and her leg pinning his against the wall. Her one free hand she placed on the wall near his strange knife.

He merely chuckled. "Are you trying to kill me or seduce me?"

"I have a knife at your throat. Which do you think?" she spat derisively.

"So, the latter?"

She ignored the joke and asked, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I live here," he said. "This is my home now."

She snorted in a rather unattractive manner. "Someone's gone _soft._ Don't tell me the rumors are true. They say you are their _lapdog._"

She could see him grow nervous and not because of the knife at his throat.

"It is true, isn't it?" she said, shoving him away and striding to the door.

"That's it? Where are you going?" he yelled after her, but she disappeared before he could say anything. She couldn't afford to have anyone blab about her actual identity. But he had been relatively kind to her before in comparison to most men she met in her line of business. She needed to find a way of silencing him without killing him herself.

She flipped the knife she had lifted off of him in her hand. It was a unique mix of Archenlander and Narnian. She had never seen its like. But she'd imagine that if Darius wore it so publicly, others would know it to be his. So whatever she did with it, he was sure to be blamed. And he could survive and most likely even break out of prison easily. All she needed to do was find a crime to pin on him.

The first possible victim she saw was the High King's ward, a young girl named Helena. She had no information past that the High King and his wife had adopted her and the kings and queens all doted on her. But that information was enough to tell her that this little girl would suffice for her purposes.

She stayed in the shadows until she had the perfect opening and threw the knife at the young girl.


	4. Family

"I dislike people coming into my private study here. Not even your brother comes in," Aiyanna said frostily as Edmund entered. Nahele, her closest friend who had apparently been working with her, shrugged apologetically.

Edmund rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Ana. What, are you hiding a dead body in here or something?"

He had been just joking, but then she stiffened almost imperceptibly and Nahele shifted guiltily. "Wait, you aren't, right?"

"Do not be ridiculous," she said hastily. "Let's go outside to speak if you insist on interrupting us."

"Not so quick," Edmund said, suddenly suspicious. He walked over to some flasks on her desk. "Triclopry, dicamba, picloram… Ana, these chemicals could kill a tree!"

"I am aware of that. It's none of your business," she said.

"Who are you planning on killing?" he accused.

"Clearly, a Tree. So it falls under _my_ realm and is no business of _yours_," she said snottily.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me. Nahele, she probably dragged you into this. Who is it she's planning on killing?"

Before he could answer at all, there was suddenly a whizzing sound. Then quite literally out of nowhere, a knife embedded itself in Aiyanna's side. She screamed as sap and blood poured out of her side.

"Guards! Guards!" Edmund called as he and Nahele ran to Aiyanna's side.

Edmund, calm even under pressure as any commander must be, slowly, carefully removed the knife. Then his face darkened as he recognized it. There was no mistaking it, as much as he wished he was wrong.

He turned to the guards. "You and you! Go fetch healers. The rest of you, track down Darius and arrest him."

"No," Aiyanna panted. When Edmund turned back to her, she and Nahele were holding hands and seeming to be concentrating hard. Aiyanna seemed to be murmuring foreign words.

Nahele explained "She's using my strength to heal herself. I don't have the magic to do that directly. She'll be fine. But that knife, it could only have occurred through very old Dryad magic of magical wards. Where the caster takes on anything done to whoever they are trying to protect."

When Aiyanna could again speak, she whispered, "Helena."

"Guards! With me!" Edmund said as he ran to Helena's room where she would be in lessons with her tutor. His mind began racing as he tried to figure out his next steps.

* * *

Darius had been talking with one of his closest friends, a leopard named Arianis when suddenly three guards burst into the room, two of which were centaurs who grabbed his arms, pinning them behind his back.

"What?" he gasped, taken aback.

"You are being arrested for treason," a tiger guard he recognized as Arianis' friend growled.

"You can't be serious," Arianis growled back.

"He's done it before, eh?" the tiger pointed out as they began dragging Darius out of the room, although not too roughly.

As Darius was being brought down to the prisons, Nzinga saw him. Her plan was going perfectly as she hoped it would and yet she did not smile. After faking so many smiles, she had long forgotten how to genuinely smile from any sort of pleasure. She merely nodded to herself before disappearing to get about her work. The Kings and Queens were sure to be tied up with dealing with the assassination attempt. Now was the time to sneak into the Queen Susan's chambers to find information to give to Rabadash about the queen's intentions.

Soon Darius was in the dungeons once more. Even the same cell as he had been in previously. Not that it was too surprising. Since becoming a guard he had found out there were only 3 cells for human prisoners. Of course only Narnians would think to make appropriate accommodations for prisoners of various species.

He leaned against the wall. He had seen this coming. That was the main reason he had sought out Arianis – to have an alibi and witness that he was not at the crime scene. He only hoped that whatever crime Nzinga had framed him for hadn't hurt anyone he knew.

To his surprise, it was only minutes later that the two minotaurs that guarded the dungeons – seriously, it was like they had no life outside of guarding the dungeons – came for him.

"So soon?" he asked. "By the way, any clue what I'm in here for?"

The minotaurs gave him strange looks, but then shook their heads no. They brought him to what had been previously labeled "Prisoner's Visitation Room." But it seemed they had put in a new sign since that now said "Guest Room." Darius couldn't help rolling his eyes at that. But it seemed he wasn't to be interrogated if they were headed to that room.

"Don't bother chaining him," a familiar voice said as the minotaurs brought him in.

"Your Majesty," Darius said reluctantly as he bowed to Susan. She gestured for him to sit across from her.

"Leave us," she said to the minotaurs in dismissal.

"Have you come to have tea and chat with me?" he said dryly once the minotaurs had left.

She shot him a glance, seeming annoyed. "I would have visited you before, um…"

"Before I wound up in prison again?" he said sourly.

"Yes. Sorry about that," she said sheepishly.

"Well, at least I know how to get you to stop avoiding me," he said dryly. He saw a small smile on her lips and felt his heart lift a little. At least he was still the one who could make her smile.

She teased back, "Well then, next time, could you be a little less dramatic?"

Darius couldn't help grinning. It was almost like they had shifted back to normal. But… at the same time, they hadn't. And never could after what he had said. "Do… do you want to talk about, umm. Do… yeah. From before we kinda stopped talking?"

Susan's face turned hard. Darius could have kicked himself for bringing that up. Now the frosty silence between them was about to return again.

She finally took a deep breath and said quietly but firmly, "No. No, I'd rather not. I… I suppose we ought to but… not when my siblings are likely to enter any moment. Anyways, I'm here because Arianis told me you had been unjustly arrested, but she didn't even know what for."

"So… do you believe me?" Darius said hopefully.

"Do you really think I wouldn't?" she said quietly. "You know I trust you."

"How can I be sure of how you think of me?" he said dryly. She glared at him. He gulped and said hastily, "Never mind."

"So do you know what happened?" Susan asked, just as they heard noise from the hallway.

Sure enough Edmund rushed in, Oreius and a few other of his most trusted soldiers following behind. Darius tried to read his face, but he seemed mostly harried. Most disturbingly, Edmund had the knife he had once gifted to Darius in his hand, so Nzinga had framed him as he had feared. He got to his feet to bow, but Edmund was by his side in a matter of seconds, grasping his upperarms anxiously.

"How much do you know about what happened?" Edmund asked firmly.

"I – what?" Darius asked, thrown off by the question.

"The crime you were framed for. Do you know _anything_ about it?"

"I… I know who took my knife and had reason to frame me. But I have no clue what she might be up to."

"So you know who?" Edmund asked firmly. Darius could feel Edmund's grip on him tighten. Whatever had happened, it clearly had set Edmund on edge.

"I… yes," Darius said wildly. "You… you believe me just like that?"

"Well, there was no way you did it," Edmund said more calmly as he offered Darius his knife back.

"And what was it that he was framed for?" Susan asked.

"I'm just going to start with she is absolutely fine, not a scratch, so don't worry about that," Edmund said slowly.

"Lucy?" Susan asked anxiously.

Edmund shook his head. "They went after – and keep in mind, she's perfectly fine – Helena."

"What?!" Darius yelled. Susan grabbed her brother's shoulder, equally shocked.

"Like I said before, not even a scratch!" Edmund said defensively. When they both were slightly calmer, Edmund continued. "I wasn't exactly there when it happened, but somehow Aiyanna had placed magical wards to protect Helena so that any attack on Helena would instead attack Aiyanna – who's hurt, but will be fine thanks to her creepy woodland voodoo."

"How is Helena? Did she see the dagger come at her? Is she upset?" Darius asked anxiously.

"I uhh didn't really see. But I sent someone to get Peter straightaway, and she seemed very happy to have Peter there so she's fine," Edmund assured. "That's why Pete's not done here right now. So you know who might be behind this?"

"Um… Natara. Or her real name, Nzinga," he fumbled.

"The slavegirl? She's the assassin?" Edmund said incredulously.

Darius bit his lip. He could only hope that since Helena was the victim, Edmund would believe what he had to say. But he was more worried about Susan. She… she was sure to put the pieces together. He suddenly regretted ever telling Susan about the one night he had paid for with Nzinga. "She…I've worked with her before."

"So this is a regular thing for her? So she's not even a slavegirl?" Edmund frowned.

"She is a slavegirl. Usually she only goes on missions her … her _master_ gives her," he explained, disgusted by the word master. All present – Edmund particularly so – winced at that statement.

"Is her…_master_ here?" Edmund asked.

Darius shook his head. "Not sure why he'd give her up. Rabadash must have paid a fortune for her. Or its possible she bought her freedom, and Rabadash is paying her for it."

"But what does Rabadash want with Helena?" Susan asked.

"He… he probably doesn't," he said reluctantly. He wished Rabadash had though. Then maybe he'd be gone for good. "Nzinga knows I would recognize her. She honestly hasn't changed much as far as I can tell. She faced me and took my knife. I... I'm not sure why Helena…I mean, I knew she would have done something with it to pin on me, but her?"

"It's not exactly public knowledge that you're related to them," Edmund mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps she only knew Helena as Peter's ward. Then framing her death on you would be realistic I suppose."

Darius cringed back, rather stung that Edmund had implied that him killing an innocent little girl was _realistic._

Edmund noticed and hastily added, "To someone who only knew you from before, I meant. But now we need to figure out Nzinga's and Rabadash's intentions. Still eager to have that villain court you, eh, sister?"

Darius was annoyed to feel his heart skip a beat at the idea of Rabadash being soon gone and out of their lives. But no such luck.

"Darius himself said Rabadash probably didn't have anything to do with Helena," Susan said after a long pause, fingering her necklace. It wasn't the goddess one – that was likely to precious to wear regularly – but it looked Calormen and was likely a gift from the Prince nevertheless.

"At the very least, he keeps very questionable company," Edmund frowned. "A slavegirl assassin. Never would have thought of that."

"No… there… there can't be many of those, can there?" Susan said, her tone purposely casual, almost too much so. "If there were, you would know, wouldn't you, Darius? Are there other slavegirl assassins in Calormen? Especially bed slaves?"

Darius froze. She had figured it out. "I… ah…." he struggled. Why did Susan insist on pressing it? She had made it clear she was still going to see Rabadash. And it wasn't like he had even seen Nzinga in well over a decade.

"We need to figure out our next steps. Darius, I have a plan, but you're not going to like it," Edmund mused.

"I… why not?" he said, his throat dry.

"It… it requires you staying here in prison. We… we can try to make it more comfortable. And… it'll make it more difficult for you to see the kids so often," he said.

"As long as they're safe," Darius said, relieved. "And honestly, the cells here are more comfortable than cells – heck even actual lodgings – elsewhere."

"Fantastic. We were totally going for comfortable. That strikes fear into the hearts of every would-be criminal," Edmund grumbled.

"Ed, your plan?" Susan prompted.

"If we let Darius out, she'll know we know about her," Edmund said. "Then she'll be even more likely to act out of fear that we're going to kill her."

"So we send her back to the Calormens and don't have to deal with her," Susan said, almost too gleeful at that idea.

"Or she can stay here and have a chance at a decent life. But we need her to not make any hasty actions until she learns she can trust us," Edmund said. Susan pursed her lips, glancing sideways at Darius.

"She… she's not going to change," Darius said slowly.

"You sound rather like Sirius or the others who had the same amount of belief in your ability to change," Edmund reprimanded. Darius felt the scars on his chest twinge a little.

"I… I guess," he said reluctantly. "But I had family to help me and give me motivation to change. Nzinga has no one."

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't try," Edmund said conclusively. "I'll try to befriend her from my end."

Susan looked rather annoyed as she said, "And what exactly does _that _mean, dear brother?"

"Just friends! I don't plan on… taking advantage of her if that's what you're implying," Edmund said, looking rather affronted. "Not saying that being with her like that is off the table exactly. Can't say what the future holds, ya know? But as long as she thinks that she doesn't have the option to say no, I would never ask."

"You better not," Susan threatened.

"I give you my full permission to use me as a target for knife throwing practice if I coerce her in any way," Edmund promised.

They all glanced to the door as they heard noise. Peter came in with Helena. Edmund was about to say something when Peter cut him off, explaining, "We came in the back way."

"Uncle Darry!" Helena cried, squirming in Peter's arms. Peter handed her over, kissing her forehead before letting her go. Darius grinned as he cuddled his little niece in him arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her head into his hair. The three tetrarchs moved to the side to have private conference while Darius hugged his niece.

"I love you so much," he whispered almost silently to his precious niece. After losing Lisette, the thought of losing her or her siblings was too much to bear.

He hadn't thought he had spoken loud enough for her to hear, but she whispered, "I love you, uncle." His heart melted.

The two brother kings returned, making Darius suddenly realize that Susan had disappeared. Peter said, "We're going with Ed's plan, as much as I would rather not. But the moment the kids are endangered again, we're calling it off. Helping one slavegirl isn't nearly as important as they are. And I still want you participating in the tournament, if you can. We're rather determined for Calormen not to win, even if Susan wishes to ally with them. Do you think yourself practiced enough?"

"Yes, Sire," he said. "But won't they notice?"

"Just come as a random knight of Narnia and don't remove your helmet. We're not naming knights as specific people but rather simply as their country. Lucy's been oddly persistent on having us do that," Peter said with a frown. Darius hid his smirk. He had a _very_ good idea why Lucy would insist on that. "Susan's instructing the trusted guards right now on what to do and making your cell room more comfortable. Unless there are any questions from anyone, I believe we are done here."

"Can I stay with Uncle Darry?" Helena said, her eyes wide. Darius glanced at Peter, shaking his head no as little as possible. No matter how comfortable the cell may be, he didn't want her there. Peter nodded as imperceptivity as possible to him.

"But Helena," he said, his kingliness gone. To anyone, it would appear he was simply an average father talking to his daughter. "I think your siblings and Corin are going horseback riding soon. Do you want to join them?"

"Yes!" Helena squealed, suddenly happy again and reaching her arms back out to Peter. Darius kissed her goodbye before Peter took her back and left.

He found it odd that he wasn't being brought back to his cell by guards, but then again, he wasn't a genuine prisoner. He stopped in shock when he reached his cell. There was an actual bed rather than a cot, food placed out, and an overall homey feel. He shook his head, chuckling a bit. But what he wanted to see there the most wasn't there: Susan.

What was worse is she must have really rushed to get all this done in time for her to leave without running into him at all. So she was still intentionally avoiding him. Any joy he had felt having Helena safe in his arms disappeared at that realization.

* * *

After dropping off Helena, Peter went to have a private conversation with his wife. He walked up behind her and placed a hand on her oaken chair.

"Is this about what Edmund found out? Because I don't plan to tell you who. It's none of your business," Aiyanna said frostily.

"Um, yes it is, you're my wife. Our business is mine as well, and likewise mine is yours. But no, that's not why I'm here," Peter said, making a mental note to ask Edmund what _that_ was about later. "Are you alright?"

"Some of the magic is still at work, but I am healed enough," she said.

After a pause he said, "I was rather amazed to see that you cared for Helena so."

"I know how you would blame yourself and be a less efficient king if she dies because you dote on her so, therefore she became my concern as well," she answered methodically.

Peter sighed. "So… you don't love her?"

Aiyanna silently looked down at her hands, thinking it over. "I don't think I even knows what love means," she said quietly. "I've always been told that love is a weakness."

Peter snaked his arms around her, placing his chin on her shoulder. "Love… love is putting someone else's needs before your own. Because it might as well kill you if they die. And maybe it is a weakness. But you love that person, so their needs come before others."

As much as he wanted to ask her, he patiently waited in silence for her to speak. She finally did, saying, "I'm not sure if I love them or not. I… I only care about them because you do. Because you love them. But… Peter?"

"Yes?"

"I…. If that's what love is… I think I might love you," she said uncertainly. She was thinking about her vow. Arranging for Peter and his siblings that… that might as well kill her. He had become the only person she really trusted, even if it was mainly because he was so easy to read. But sending him to his own world was for his good, so that he would not die. "Actually… yes. I do love you. Even… even though such stupid emotions make me weaker."

Peter softly smiled and hugged his wife tighter. "Well, if such emotions make someone weak and foolish, than I'm the weakest fool of them all because I love you."

* * *

Susan finally worked up the courage to head back down to the dungeons. She… she had to talk to Darius. He deserved a response to her running away. And a darker part of Susan couldn't stand to think of the possibility of Darius being with anyone but her, even as she allowed her many suitors to court her. Finding out Natara or Nzinga or whoever was the one and only girl Darius had ever slept with other than her was infuriating. Ever since they let him live after trying to assassinate her, Darius had been devoted to Susan. She was almost glad when he had dismissed the idea of Nzinga ever becoming good. But of course her brother had to keep Nzinga here and try to save her. By the Mane, Susan was actually genuinely glad Darius was in prison, away from the Caloremen bed slave. Even if she couldn't be with him, she couldn't stand the idea of anyone else being with him.

She shook her head, trying to dismiss such thoughts. They weren't fair to Darius. He had every right to sleep with whoever he wanted. It shouldn't be any of her business. And yet disturbing, infuriating images of him with that… that _whore_ kept popping into her mind, making her angrier and angrier.

She sighed. Maybe she shouldn't see Darius when she was in such a mood. She switched paths to practice some archery, hoping to find her solace in that.

But on the way, a frantic faun suddenly found her.

"My queen," she said hurriedly, bowing.

"What is it, Fayna?" she asked.

"You… your room! There… someone's been through your things! I was heading in there to clean! The moment I opened the door, I heard crashing glass! When I ran in, the window was broken as though someone had jumped out. I'm sorry, my queen. I rushed and tried to see them, I truly did! But I saw neither head nor tail of the intruder," she said nervously.

"It's not your fault," Susan assured gently. She made sure to appear more at ease than she felt in order to not further upset the maid. But her mind was going frantic with the possibilities. Especially since her room was so heavily guarded. If this person was adept enough to break in there, there wouldn't be many rooms closed off to them.

When she got there, she found almost nothing out of place, which was almost a relief. But then she noticed a drawer which looked like it had been forced open. She went to it, confused. When she opened it, she realized every letter she had kept from her correspondence with Darius while he was at sea and in Galma was gone.

**I'm going to have a lot of random knights and ladies mentioned during the tournaments and festivities. If you have any name suggestions, tell me! And they can be any sort of names since other countries are supposedly sending a few soldiers over for the tournament as well, so they don't have to sound Narnian or Calormene. **


	5. Contest

**A million thank you's to Natida for beta-reading the Rabadash/Susan section! Also, included in that section is a quote by the Perisan poet Rumi (suggested by Natida). **

The dogs sniffed everything in her room.

"Definitely human," they all confirmed.

"With all the humans about for the tournament, who knows who it might be?" Edmund grumbled, wishing he could help his sister more.

"Have the dogs sniff your slavegirl," Susan said, pursing her lips as though tasting something sour.

"She's not my slavegirl! And why would you suspect her?"

"Who else would want information on me? Not that any of that information would help Rabadash woo me," she said.

Edmund nodded. "Rufus, come with me so we can check out Susan's suspicions." The dog padded after him as he went to find Nzinga.

"Natara, meet Rufus," Edmund said cheerfully, trying to not make it too obvious. The girl's eyes grew wide as she looked at the Talking Dog.

"Hello, Rufus," she said in her small voice. Edmund carefully studied her. Her tiny voice, her quiet mannerisms, her submissive and even almost fearful behavior, it didn't add up. How could this woman have attempted to kill Helena? The dog surreptitiously sniffed her and whined, making Edmund realize he was saying yes, this was the smell in Susan's room. Edmund silently cursed himself for not putting a guard to follow Nzinga the moment they knew she was behind the attempted murder.

"What have you been up to, Natara?" he asked curiously.

"I wandered a bit about the castle, as your Majesty gave me leave to," she said.

"I see," he said. He hadn't quite expected her to be honest. "Would you like to see the rest of Cair Paravel with me?"

The lithe lady looked behind herself, as if expecting him to be speaking to another. She then quietly said, "I don't understand."

"I just want to be friendly," Edmund said, shrugging and grinning.

"But you are a royal, your Majesty," she said, her eyes darting across the room as if looking for a way out.

"So? That means I can take a break when I want to. Rufus, can you tell my secretary and such to cover matters for me for the next hour or so? And bring a message to my sister."

The dog cocked his head to the side in confusion, but nodded and padded out. Edmund hoped the dog understood the message to his sister was to tell Susan her suspicions were confirmed.

As he led her around, he started realizing she was studying everything. She masked it well as just interest, but now that Darius had clued them in, he could tell she was plotting. But he couldn't bring himself to be truly angry at her. He could tell she didn't understand them. He made it his goal to help her see that she was safe her. That she could have a normal life.

"Here," he suddenly said, picking a flower from a nearby bush. "For you. May I?"

He held the flower near her ear, but refrained from tucking it there until she gave her permission.

"I – I … you are asking me?" she asked.

"Yes. If you don't want it, I will not force you," he said, uncharacteristically gentle. He normally would me making sarcastic comments and such, but he didn't want to frighten her. She probably would assume any such words were meant literally and unkindly.

"So… you would allow a no, your Majesty?" she said incredulously.

"Well, yes. So, may I?" he asked again. After a moment, she slowly nodded uncertainly, as if suspecting some trick. Edmund pushed her hair back and gently placed the flower there.

Meanwhile, a much less pleasant interaction was taking place in another part of the grounds. Susan had been rather avoiding Rabadash, which was rather problematic since the only reason he had come was because she insisted he court her in person before she'd tell him her decision. So she supposed she shouldn't be too surprised when he insisted he see her before the tournament began.

"Every moment in your most gracious Majesty's presence brightens the world in my eyes," he said. "Perhaps a stroll through the Narnian gardens so I may have the chance to discourse and better know your discretion and wit?"

Susan was rather surprised at how courteous he was. After everything she had heard about Rabadash and Calormenes in general, she hadn't anticipated the possibility that she might quite honestly find him… likable. It was too early to tell, but it seemed a definite possibility. And the necklace before. It had shown that he valued her, to the point of almost a goddess. She was torn between elation and fear at the idea of actually being interested in this man courting her.

"But of course," she answered, beaming with a smile that she didn't need to force nearly as much as she thought she would.

As they walked, they made small talk which mainly consisted of Rabadash paying over the top compliments – the very thing that Susan often despise about her suitors. But then the topic suddenly changed. Rabadash turned, more serious that she had ever seen him, and asked, "There is a question I desire to ask, O Queen; but caution stays my tongue, that a delicate beauty as yourself may not think me impertinent."

"I, um," she said, made inarticulate from surprise at the unusual question. She regained her footing and said, "I shall take no offense to a question your heart truly moves you to ask."

"I have oft heard of what you bar – that is, Northeners think of us. Of how Calormen treats her people," he began. "And I believe such thoughts, such… resentments, may lie behind your reluctance to allow me to pursue you."

"Oh…" was all Susan could manage to say in response to that. She could hardly imagine that anything he had heard would be even remotely good. "And your question, your Highness?"

"Do you truly think yourself so different? That your Northern people enjoy the loving hand of justice while ours cower beneath the Tisroc's (may he live forever) tyranny?" he asked.

Susan simply stared at him, open mouthed. Of course she did. But to say so would go against all rules of diplomacy. "For one difference, we never enslave our own people. Nor do we support the enslavement of others."

"Ah, but do you?" he said lifting an eyebrow.

"Pardon? What do you mean?" she protested.

"I merely mean that to be truly free is barbaric. Anarchical. The gods only endow a few enlightened beings with the ability to live in freedom, and it is upon us that they bestow the burden of ruling over all born in need of masters to guide them to their higher purpose. We are enlightened, but lowly beings must be kept under lock and key. In your country, do you not contain the animals from attacking and being savage, as is their nature? Are they not free beneath this rule? For if they were left to their own devices, the land would become prey to unspeakable violence. They are free to serve their purpose and need not concern themselves with the heavy weight of authority; a painful weight which you and I know all too well. Well has the poet said 'Unbound by name and fame, he is free from sorrow from the world and mostly from himself'. Your ruling of the Narnians… Tis no different."

Susan's head was beginning to spin in confusion at his logic. It was dizzying surely, but… he had a point. While she would certainly never think of her subjects as vermin, she and her siblings of course made laws. But was that not the very essence of government? But… slavery… how… "But I hear slaves are often treated as subhuman. As though they have no desires or needs of their own. Here, we believe all living beings have at least the ability to choose what their interests are. Where they want to live. Basic rights like that."

"Ah, but – and forgive me if I am incorrect– do you have any seers who are not centaurs? Are not all your generals humans or near humans? And the Narnian Kings and Queens have always been humans, as well they should be. All but the evil witch you conquered," Rabadash said. "And I believe you will find that slaves are content to live in service to those who provide and care for them; 'freedom' to them means only that such comforts would be gone."

It took all of Susan's will as a queen to not start squirming under those words. She had noted before how strange it was that just because the four of them just happened to be human and at the right place at the right time, they were the kings and queens. There had been so many others Susan had privately felt deserved the role much more than they did, especially at first. But Rabadash was opening her eyes even more. Narnia was in fact almost as much a caste society as Calormen, wasn't it? By the Mane…

And the idea of happy slaves… Certainly she wasn't unfamiliar with the idea, but she had thought more of it as brainwashing. "If they had the chance to know another life…"

"Who has the chance to live the life but the one the gods bestow? Would an inferior Narnian have the chance to know the life you live? All must know their place, or else be taught a sharp, firm lesson so they remember it better in the future. And if the lesson is not given by a loving monarch, then it will be given by the merciless hand of Fate; of that there is no doubt." he said firmly.

"I – You bring up an intriguing point," she said, feeling sick. "I think I understand you, your Highness. But here in Narnia, we find gentler methods of such correction."

"A harsh master teaches the thickest minds the quickest," Rabadash said ambiguously. "If one deigns to teach a lesson to an inferior being, it is for their good that the lesson must be sharp and clear. Otherwise, they may err again. But all who know you attest to your loving heart and gentle ways, my dear Queen. It surprises me not that you wish for gentler treatment. Tis only nature that makes a woman feel so tender towards such vermin."

At least in that she could feel justified about. They never tortured as Calormen did. But everything else he had said, was it not all so?

She shook her head gently to clear it and changed the subject, saying, "Dear prince, what do you intend to accomplish with this discourse?"

"Merely to show you that you and I, we are not so different. You need not fear becoming a part of my culture. Our differences are merely superficial," he said, lifting a finger to her chin.

"I – I…" Susan stammered, completely unnerved at this point. Not so different from him? While she had resigned herself to the possibility of being bound to him by marriage, she thought herself far different from him and that she could change him. "Forgive me, your Highness, but I fear I must return to the tournament preparations now."

"Of course. But before your Majesty departs, may I humbly request your token to wear at the joust so I might be inspired to fight, spurred on by the thought of your loveliness?" he asked gallantly.

"Of course. I am flattered that you asked me," she said, relieved by the change of conversation. She pulled a ribbon from her pocket. She had considered giving it to -, but she really ought to give up that idle day dream. She handed it over to Rabadash before leaving. It was right, wasn't it? After all, life with him might be what she deserved after all. He was right. She was just like him, deep down. She had never lifted a finger to try to deconstruct Narnia's caste society. By the Mane, she had never even realized the caste society around her. And the illusion of freedom. Was it merely that? They prided themselves on being a free nation, but now she wasn't even sure what freedom meant.

"Your Majesty?" a familiar voice asked coldly. Susan turned and realized she had somehow ended up in the dungeons without realizing it. When Darius saw her face, his face softened as he hurried over to her. "Susan? What's wrong?"

"I – Nothing. I… I was just distracted and somehow ended up here," she said lamely.

"Do… do you need me to get your siblings?" he asked anxiously. "Or call for your guards? Susan!"

"I… I'm fine. Don't get anyone," she said, not even knowing what it was she needed. "Darius…"

"Your Majesty?"

"Hold me?"

She felt like such a child for saying it. But he simply took her hand and led her to the bed she had placed in his cell. He held her against his chest and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Something horrible must have happened to make you fall apart like this," he murmured.

"I look that bad?"

"Of course not. You look as beautiful as ever," he said, too sincere to be flattery. "But since when do you see out comfort? And from me? And… whatever it it, it's something that can't be fixed with a bow and arrow or some diplomacy or such because then you would just do that without a second thought," he continued questioningly.

She laughed a bit desperately. "Am I a horrible person?" she asked.

"Wh-What?!" he said almost angrily.

"Rabadash… he…" she took a deep breath to steady herself and then began telling him everything.

Darius squeezed her tightly. "He's lying," he finally said when Susan was finished after listening in patient silence.

"But he's right. I… I'm no better than him. Worse maybe even because we pretend to have freedom. And yet have done nothing to fix all these problems," Susan said.

"Susan, you _are _a good person. If you weren't, do you think I would be alive today?" he pointed out.

"I… that still doesn't make everything else alright," she said, tucking her head into his tunic.

"Susan… remember how I would always dwell on what a bad person I was?" he began. She nodded. "And you would point out all the good I've done and could do? So maybe you're not perfect. But everything you've done for Narnia has been good. I've been to almost every country at one point or another. There's no place I'd rather be."

"Would you have said that when Lisette and her children were barely getting by in Narnia, even with your help?" Susan countered.

Darius sighed and shifter, thinking. He finally said, "If she had come to you, petitioning for help, would you have turned her out?"

"No! Of course not!" Susan protested.

"And there's the difference. Rabadash sees problems, he validates them. When you see problems, you would do anything to fix them," he said.

"Do you really believe that?" she asked.

"Wouldn't you? You can't resist helping others. Even at your own expense. And that's why your subjects love you instead of fearing you," he said. She mulled over what he had said. It did make her feel better, but she still had trouble accepting it. Rabadash had forced her to admit the caste society Narnia was in. The unfairness of how ones species predetermined their future in Narnia. She couldn't help hating herself for it. If she truly loved her people, she should not allow such things to continue.

And what's more, what she was doing now was wrong too. Why had she let herself come here? It wasn't fair to Darius one bit. "Why are you being so kind to me? After… after the way I've treated you the past few days…"

"You stood by me when Nzinga framed me even before knowing what the crime might be," Darius pointed out softly. "You wouldn't let an argument stop you from helping me, so neither will I."

She hugged him tightly in response, burying her head in his hair. "Thank you," she finally said.

"You've been there for me a million times over. It's the least I could do the one time you need help," he said, almost amused. He then sounded hopeful as he asked, "So… does this maybe mean you're no longer interested in Rabadash?"

She reluctantly pulled out of his embrace. "I… I'm sorry, Darius."

"I..." he said, almost looking like he was going to break down. But he took a deep breath and said, "I understand, my queen. You must do what your heart tells you is best for Narnia."

"You... you understand? Does that mean maybe you're not angry with me?" she said in a small voice.

Darius leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair. He finally settled for, "It would be unfair for me to be angry over one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place."

The next time she saw him was at the tournament itself. Peter leaned over to tell her and Lucy so they would know it was him. The first match was spearing some rings that had been set up. The humans were all on horses.

"And his opponents?" Bria asked eagerly. Peter kept frowning at her eagerness and interest in the knights. Susan had to stifle giggles. Already Peter was being an overprotective father to his wards. It might almost be fun to see Peter's reaction to their first suitors now that it wasn't her he would be being overprotective of.

"The giants – friendly ones only of course – are Snorri, Einar, and Lothar," he began. "There's a few Archenlanders as well. Peridan, Dar, Cole, Colin, and Darrin."

"Corin says Cole is really good. 'Course Corin thinks himself good so what does he know?" Bria said. "I bet Uncle Darius'll win, no contest."

Despite herself, Susan's heart fluttered a bit when Darius won. It was traditional in Archenland for the victor of the round to offer the ring to the lady of his choosing. And he seemed to be riding towards her. But when he lowered his lance, it was in front of Lucy, not her. Lucy simply took the ring cheerfully as though nothing was unusual with it.

As Darius rode away, Susan hissed, "What was that about?"

"You and Darius… you aren't… right?" Peter stammered. Aiyanna simply stared at Lucy, dumbfounded as well. She also seemed to be throwing strange looks towards Susan, as if anticipating her reaction. Susan suddenly wondered if the dryad suspected something.

"Of course not," Lucy said twisting the ring absently in her hands. "He's just being nice is all."

Susan still wasn't sure what to make of it. But her attention returned to the tournament as Peter said, "Look, it's Ed's turn."

"And Rabadash," Susan added, leaning forward in her ornate chair and spotting her suitor. She had to admit, he did make quite a dashing figure. She shook her head and looked down the line. She saw the two of the three Telmarine who had entered the tournament at the end, including a former suitor, Caspian. But then she saw someone she actually cared about at the end of the line. "And… is that Phen?"

"So who are you hoping will win then, sister?" Peter teased. He was unable to participate as High King and therefore presiding over the tournament, but Edmund bent the rules to allow himself to participate. And Pheneus had been allowed to participate, although Corin wasn't since King Lune refused – something Susan was quite grateful about.

"Who are _you_ hoping for?" she retorted, trying to throw the attention off of her.

In the end, it was Edmund who won. He went to where a gaggle of Archenland ladies were watching and Lady Anna of Dell took his ring. Susan idly wondered if he was just being courteous to a friend or if there may be something more there.

Later that day, after a midday break, the tournament began again with single combat. Aiyanna had finally found an excuse to leave when Mr. Tumnus had approached them, saying there was a diplomatic emergency with the Galmans. Lucy and Aiyanna had said they would take care of it and left.

"Susan, look at this," Peter suddenly said, looking at the roster of participants.

"Hm?"

"Who is this?" he asked, pointing to a nameless knight who merely went by "Yellow Knight, Narnia."

"I have no idea," she said, frowning. Darius had been the Red Knight. There were a few they didn't know for the other countries, but how had a knight signed up to fight for Narnia without their knowledge and consent? "Ana?"

"She would have told me. Or maybe not… Edmund says she's planning on murdering someone, and she's yet to confide in me about that," Peter said, lowering his voice at the end.

"What?"

"Edmund's put some spies to track her," he said dismissively. "So we'll get to the bottom of that. But what would motivate her to secretly add someone to the roster? Besides, she has no interest in tournaments."

"Maybe whoever it was asked Lu? But then she would have told me," Susan said, mystified. "Or it may be just a mistake in the roster and no one will show up."

"Let us hope for that then. Else we may have a criminal on our hands, for who would go behind our backs to enter the tournament in the name of our country? Although I do not like to think our roster mistaken either. The scribes rarely make mistakes."

"Peter, have you ever thought it unfair that only certain types of Narnians can be scribes?" Susan suddenly asked, her mind drifting back.

He looked at her in surprise. "Well, I suppose it is. But what can we do about it? Hooves and claws aren't meant to hold quills."

"I suppose," Susan said, unconvinced. Maybe limiting scribes was excusable on basis of anatomy, but was that true for all limitations they had unknowingly placed on Narnians? Rabadash may have meant his words to be encouragement, but she couldn't help feel weighted down by them.

Such thoughts still occupied her mind as she watched Darius spar against some Terebinthian named Lord Edric, who had entered the tournament as the Green Knight of Terebinthia rather than under his own name, but then ruined the point of it by telling everyone he would be in green armor while drinking at a tavern. Darius won and progressed to the next round.

A few turns later, Rabadash was set to face the Yellow Knight of Narnia if the roster did not lie. Susan drummed her fingers on the edge of her chair anxiously. Sure enough, a knight decked in yellow showed up. Peter frowned darkly.

"Su, it'll be too suspicious if I leave," Peter said pointedly after motioning for the match to begin. The Yellow Knight seemed to be quite nervous and unprepared in comparison to all the other knights. While he didn't seem to be a novice, he clearly was not at the high skill level of the other knights in the tournament.

"More so if I go. It's Rabadash. Swallowpad?" she called to a nearby bird who flew over and perched on her outstretched fingers. She kept watching the tournament and frowned as she recognized a peculiar twist of the wrist the knight used. Darius had taught her this move, saying he had learned it during his time in the Archenland army.

"Your Majesty?" he croaked.

"Fetch Edmund and tell him to prepare to arrest the Yellow Knight. But tell him to go about it carefully. It may be that this Yellow Knight is a renegade member of the Archenland, and we do not wish to cause disruption to our alliance. Nor do we want to cause alarm with a public arrest," she instructed.

Edmund had been watching the match carefully. He wasn't surprised to hear his sister's orders. He too had wondered who this mysterious knight may be. He simply nodded and rounded up his personal guard. "Hide yourselves inside. I wish to see how the match plays out. You two, I'm putting you on tracking in case the soldier should not return to his tent." He watched the knight carefully. He was good enough to be in an army, but not so good that he would be allowed to fight in a tournament as elite as this one. He most likely was a soldier of Archenland who wasn't allowed to fight in the tournament. Rabadash eventually disarmed the soldier, and Edmund stepped back into the shadows and slunk over to the tent. The guards pounced on the knight the moment he was inside the tent and invisible to the rest of the tournament. The team worked together as effectively as ever and quickly disarmed the knight and forced him to kneel in front of Edmund.

"You are hereby charged for fraud and treason for entering this tournament under a false identity," Edmund accused. "Have you anything you wish to say before your imprisonment?"

"Um," the knight said in a surprisingly high voice. "I guess I do…"

Edmund frowned. "Take your helmet off," he commanded suspiciously.

The knight hesitated before slowly taking the helmet off. "Can… can we _please_ not mention this to Pete and Su?" she said with the best puppy-dog eyes one could give while decked out in armor.


End file.
